I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
I finished Year of the Dog a couple of weeks ago and got it back from my editor and beta readers. It looks clean and will be released on May 13, 2025. (If you’re thinking of grabbing it, the preorder is still 70% off for a little while longer.)
In the meantime, here’s a short snippet:
***
“Are you all right?” Mari asked.
“I’m fine, now.” Lana gulped.
“The Rottweiler was only curious. I could tell he wasn’t going to attack, but I also didn’t want to take any chances.”
Lana took a deep breath. “Tell me this,” she said in a more normal voice. “How can you face a 75-pound Rottweiler without blinking an eye, but you’re too afraid to face your own sister?”
The words fell between them slow and measured, like huge water drops.
Mari glanced back at the Rottweiler, then pictured her sister. Her stomach clenched again just at the mental image. “You’re absolutely right.” Then she sighed. “But it’s not like I can erase years of bickering, misunderstanding, and criticism in a single moment. She’ll hate me.”
Lana’s eyebrows rose. “More than she does now?”
“Right now, she doesn’t hate me. I embarrass her and she takes it like a personal insult that I won’t quit dog training.”
“This has nothing to do with dogs. You just don’t like conflict with her.”
“She’s my sister. Shouldn’t sisters get along?”
“Think about it logically. If you tell her about William, wouldn’t she be more likely to be mad at him? Why would she be mad at you? And even if she were, why would that be anything different than how she normally treats you?”
“The truth is … the truth is …” What was the real truth? “If I tell her about William, Jenessa will be … vulnerable.”
Lana blinked at her.
“Don’t you see? Jenessa has always been strong and confident. She achieved whatever she wanted—a successful, wealthy husband, a huge home in Kaimuki, two perfect kids, community work that wins her accolades in the Honolulu newspapers. This news about William is going to open up a giant Pandora’s box of arguments and hurts and arguments—”
“You said that twice.”
“—a box, mind you, that I’ve been very happy has been kept closed since we were in our twenties. Since …”
Lana’s eyes darkened. “Since Marshall.”
His name still caused a twinge somewhere just under her breastbone. Heartbreak, self-loathing, and regret. “It’ll make her hate me even more.”
“But how would her ignorance be any better? Your relationship with her is already bad—but you would have done the right thing.”
The right thing. Whenever she did the right thing, she only made things worse.
Lana pointed at the disappearing Rottweiler. “Rotty.” She gestured with her other hand. “Jenessa.”
“I’d take the Rotty any day.”
Lana threw her hands out in frustration. “Mari, grow a backbone.”
***
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